


Worth Something

by alphageminorum (cecilantro)



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: Canon Divergence, Gladion is touch starved and flinches every time Hau touches him, Just a little canon divergence, M/M, Spoilers, Sun refuses to evolve Rowlet because he loves his bird orb., Sun/Moon Spoilers, Trans Male Character, Trans Sun
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-30
Updated: 2017-12-06
Packaged: 2018-09-03 10:19:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8708686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cecilantro/pseuds/alphageminorum
Summary: Follow Sun through his adventures in Alola, beginning from Po Town and continuing past the League. Watch this small, nerdy-ass trainer dote on his precious Pokémon and fall in love with the Normal Type Trial Captain.Featuring Sun accidentally calling Ilima "Honey" and screaming internally. (And externally)
Meanwhile, Hau tries to drill into Gladion that he is not, in fact, worthless.





	1. "Honey"

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so gay for Ilima. Gladion deserves to be happy. This was born.

Alola really was an incredible place, Sun monologued internally, as he stood at the entrance to Ula’ula Meadow. The light mist that covered each of the meadows caressed his skin, lightly, as he stepped out onto the boards that rose above the flowers, listening carefully to the creak as he moved. The sound of pounding footsteps behind him caught his attention, and he spun around, his hand already moving towards Rowlet’s ball.  
Gladion stood at the edge of the boards, panting slightly, his hair slightly damp. He seemed reluctant to step onto the wood.   
“Don’t go.” Gladion fixed his green gaze on Sun’s face, “Don’t…”   
Sun tilted his head, confused, and paced back across the boards back towards Gladion. The Team Skull member took a few steps back accordingly,   
“Don’t go to Po Town, it’s suicide…” Gladion dropped his gaze, “To face so many Team Skull members…”   
“They’re not exactly strong, or bright.” Sun said, tilting his head the other way, “I can take ‘em easily.”   
“They have strength in numbers, and there’s just _so many_ of them. And Guzma…”   
“I’ll be fine.” Sun dismissed, stopping at the edge of the wooden boards. Gladion stood a full two metres from him. Gladion chewed his lip, and Sun chuckled a little. “Does this mean you’re worried about me?”   
“Ugh!” Gladion’s timid demeanour transformed immediately into his usual cold, aggressive one, “You’re so _self-centred,_ Sun.”   
“You called me Sun.” the trainer in question raised his eyebrows, and Gladion was momentarily struck speechless.   
“Shut up. If you want to get yourself killed, be my guest.” and with that, he disappeared.

Sun stared after him for a moment, then shrugged, and wandered on through the meadow.

 

As he reached  the connecting exit to Route 17, his phone buzzed- a video call. He answered as he proceeded,  
“Hi Ilima,” he greeted, beaming, “What’s up?”   
“Are you on Route 17?” Ilima frowned, “Where is your umbrella? You’re going to catch a cold, Sun.”   
“What is with everyone fussing over me today?” Sun laughed, “I’ve been out in worse.”   
“Sun!” Ilima exclaimed, and Sun chuckled a little louder.   
“Why did you call me?”   
“I…” Illima frowned, “I just wanted to check in on a friend, yeah?”   
“Ha, lame.” Sun quirked an eyebrow, “What’s up?”   
“I just have a bad feeling.” Ilima looked away from the screen, rubbing his shoulder with his free hand. Sun smirked, rolling his eyes,   
“I’ll be _fine_ , Ili.” he said, “But I see a battle coming up, so I gotta go. I’ll call you back when I’m done, yeah?”   
“Okay.” Ilima sighed a little, the frown on his face staying put, and Sun tipped his head, stopping in place.   
“Hey, no. No frowning.”   
“I’m not frowning!” Ilima replied, frowning more.   
“Yeah you are, Ili! I am not moving from this place until I see a smile.” he had a cocky look on his face, rain dripping down his cheek. Ilima chuckled at him, rolling his eyes, and Sun beamed at the small smile gracing the Normal Captain’s face, “There’s the smile I love.”   
“Lame.” Ilima echoed Sun’s response from earlier, “Do what you need to, and get dry. Stay safe.”   
“I always do. Later, man.”   
“Bye, Sun.”   
Ilima ended the call, and Sun tucked his phone away before heading on, taking the ball off of his belt and releasing his Rowlet before the first Team Skull trainer could even challenge him.

 

Sun wiped the floor with the grunts in Po Town as easily as one would spread warm butter. As he faced Guzma, though, he felt the first quake of fear in him. He stilled his hand as he chose a Pokémon to start the battle with.  
“Ready, kid?” Guzma’s tired, dark eyes locked on the child. Sun nodded deftly, and the battle began- first up was Sylveon vesus Golisopod.   
“Use Moonblast.” Sun commanded his Pokémon calmly, though Golisopod got in just before Sylveon with a round of Razor Shell. As Sylveon struggled back to its feet, having been thrown across the room, it unleashed a glowing ball of fairy-type light, catching Golisopod in a critical hit and sending it to the floor. Guzma withdrew his Pokémon with a growl. As Guzma switched to Ariados, Sun switched to his partner, Rowlet. Two Peck attacks later, and Rowlet fluttered back to Sun, leaving Ariados fainted on the floor. Guzma looked at his fallen comrade, and began to chuckle. Sun, confused, cocked his head.   
“It’s fine.” Guzma assured the Skull Grunt beside him, “We did what we were told. Let’s bounce.”

 

As Sun left Po Town, he called Ilima.  
“Sun!” Ilima answered, “Are you OK?”   
“No problem!” Sun stuck his tongue out, “I’m catching a lift on Charizard, straight back to Aether House.”   
“Good plan.” Ilima replied, eyes raking Sun’s dripping wet hair, “And dry off when you get there.”   
“I will, fuss-pot.” Sun smiled, and Charizard landed next to him with a thud, “I’ll call you tonight, yeah?”   
“Okay, bye Sun.”   
“Bye honey.”   
As soon as he’d said it, Sun realised. Whoops. He’d called Ilima ‘honey’ accidentally, though thankfully the Normal Captain had ended the call before responding. The last, brief split second of Ilima slack-jawed with surprise hung in Sun’s mind and he shivered as he clambered onto Charizard’s back. He sure hoped Ilima wouldn’t bring it up later on.

 

He thanked Charizard as he slid down from the Fire Type’s back in front of the Tapu Village Pokémon centre and headed immediately in the direction of Aether house, joining Acerola on the way up the steps. Yungoos circled around Acerola’s legs, tripping her a little as sun pushed the door open to let them inside.  
Yungoos shot over to its owner immediately, clambering up Hau’s leg to wrap around the little girl’s shoulders. The girl herself clung to Hau, who was patting her gently on the head, his other arm around the shoulders of a sniffling little boy. As soon as they saw Acerola, they dashed over, shouting about Lillie.   
“Calm down, calm down,” Acerola soothed, “What’s happened?”   
“Lillie’s gone.” Hau interjected softly, stepping forward, his trademark grin gone from his face, “Plumeria turned up with a handful of Skull members, demanding Cosmog. Lillie… Nebby… they went with them.”   
“What? Where?”   
The door to Aether House slammed open, “Did I hear that right?” Gladion stormed in, “It was _Lillie_ that took Cosmog?”   
“So what if it was?” Hau’s gaze turned cold, and Sun saw hurt flicker briefly across Gladion’s face. It was replaced quickly with irritation.   
“There’s no time to waste- take your hand off of your Pokéballs, Sun, there’s no time for a battle now. We need to get to Aether Paradise immediately.”   
“Aether Paradise?” Sun and Hau responded in unison. Gladion growled, storming toward the door,   
“There’s no need to explain. You helped cause this mess, you can both help to clean it up. Let’s go.”

 

They headed to Aether Paradise as quickly and quietly as possible, with Gladion bypassing the Pokémon Centre and healing their Pokémon en route, empty bottles of potions, revives, and ether piling up behind him as he worked through each of their teams.  
Hau handed his exhausted Flareon across the table to Gladion, and despite teetering on the edge of unconsciousness, the Pokémon began to struggle. Gladion shook his head, and moved around to stand beside Hau, “You hold him, he won’t stay still for me.”   
Hau nodded, determination etched on his face. He set Flareon down on the table, gently stroking its fur and hushing it as Gladion got to work, gently spraying the Pokémon’s fur with Revive spray, massaging it into Flareon’s fur. Sun sat back, watching him work. Gladion moved carefully across Flareon’s body, flinching as his hand touched Hau’s. After a moment’s pause, he went back to work, growing closer… closer… and eventually, he allowed one of his hands to rest over Hau’s, and used the other to spray the fur close by, under the guise of holding Flareon steady. Sun smirked a little, watching a very faint flush creep its way up Gladion’s neck, and finding it entertaining just how flustered the Team Skull member was becoming at something as simple as human contact.

But wow, the more he thought about it, the sadder it seemed- how long had it been since Gladion would have had any physical contact past, maybe, the odd punch from another grunt? Hau seemed to notice, too, and when Flareon finally stood up and shook itself heartily, Hau threw an arm around Gladion- he was too short to wrap it around Gladion’s shoulders, so he instead decided to wrap an arm around the taller boy’s waist. Gladion froze immediately, for almost ten long seconds the room was still and silent.  
“Don’t do that.” Gladion finally managed, voice gruff and face burning. He dragged himself away from Hau, to his bag, and practically buried his burning face in the medicine pocket.

 

They docked at Aether Paradise soon after, by which time Gladion had calmed down a little and the red was gone from his face. “Let’s go.”  
They trailed out of the boat on high alert, Pokéballs already in hand, looking around.   
“I don’t like how quiet it is.” Gladion commented, straightening up. Hau looked across the harbor,   
“Why would Lillie even _be_ here?” he asked, “She left with Plumeria, not the Aether foundation.”   
Gladion glowered at him, “She just will be.”   
“Great!” Hau threw his hands up, frustrated, “So what do we do now?”   
“I guess… we take the elevator?” Gladion replied.   
“That seems logical.” Sun commented, and began walking.   
They managed to evade the eyes of the Aether foundation employees, firing up the elevator before anyone had even realised they were there.   
“Hey! Stop!” they managed to hear before Gladion hit a button and the elevator started moving.   
“There’s no access to the lower floors,” he explained as they moved upward, “So I’m taking us to the conservation deck.”   
“Hopefully we’ll find something there.” Hau agreed.

 

What they found was Faba, and a Pokémon battle that Sun breezed through like a knife through butter. The branch chief gave them an evil smirk as he waved them away, watching them sink into the floor. “Have fun!”  
“Alright, there are two secret labs down this way.” Gladion told them, heading for the door, “I’ll check out the first one, Secret Lab A. You check out the second.” he looked at Sun out of the corner of his eye, watching as he fiddled with his phone, “There’s no signal down here, don’t bother calling your boyfriend.”   
Sun flushed hard. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”   
“Whatever you say, sunshine.” Sun swore a shadow of a smirk appeared on Gladion’s face, “Now hurry. Time is running out.”   
He turned into the door that came up on their left, and left Hau and Sun to walk on silently towards the building in the distance.   
Halfway there, Hau gently tapped Sun’s arm. “So, Gladion, huh?”   
“Focus, Hau.” Sun frowned, “We can talk about his crush on you once Lillie is safe.”   
“ _His_ crush on _me_ ?” Hau stopped in the middle of the walkway, and Sun heaved a heavy sigh as he grabbed his friend by the wrist and dragged him along the hall.   
“Hau, _focus._ ”

 

They hit the button to open the door to the lab and were met immediately with a battle. So Sun and Hau teamed up against the researchers inside, fighting in tandem, Primarina and Rowlet working together to form a perfect team that wiped the floor with their enemies.   
However, they found no Lillie. The Aether members pushed past them and ran, and Sun followed close behind.   
“Let’s check on Gladion. Lillie’s got to be there.” Hau said firmly as he joined Sun on the walkway, and the duo ran to the first lab, and as they drew closer, the door to the lab opened and Gladion strode out.   
“No luck.” he shook his head, “Did you find anything?”   
“Just some information about Cosmog.” Sun replied, slowing to a walk, but heading straight past Gladion, “If Lillie isn’t with you, she must be elsewhere on the island. Come on.”

 

Two bars of signal flickered up on Sun’s phone as the elevator clanged into place on the entrance floor. His immediate response was to call Ilima.  
“Lillie is missing,” he gasped to the phone as soon as Ilima picked up, his feet clanging on the metal floor, the group ran down the hallway. Faba could be seen at the end. Ilima leaned in, concern etched on his face,   
“Are you okay?”   
“Yeah just- worried.” Sun panted. Gladion stopped a few metres ahead, and Sun halted beside him. Ilima glanced at the edge of Gladion he could see on Sun’s phone, and nodded.   
“Call me when you’re done. Stay safe, Sun.”   
“I will.” Sun reached for Rowlet’s Pokéball, “I always do.”   
“Bye, honey.” Ilima’s worried expression became a devilish grin as he ended the call, and Sun groaned as he tucked the phone into his binder. Ilima sure could be an asshole, he lamented internally, as Faba loosed Hypno on the group.

 

Gladion unlocked the door with the key Faba had handed over once they’d beaten him to a pulp. As the heavy iron creaked upwards, Gladion turned to Sun and Hau.  
“You know… what you said at the Battle Royal Dome, Hau…” he began, avoiding Hau’s gaze, “About achieving better things when you work together.”   
“Yeah?”   
“You were right.” and for the first time, Gladion smiled, a genuine smile with no hint of sarcasm, sadness, or a smirk. “I know we’re not friends, but we’re not enemies now, either.”   
“We are friends.” Hau blurted, “At least, I consider you a friend.”   
“Oh.” Gladion seemed speechless, pink creeping up his neck again, “Um. Thank you. I should…”   
Gladion dashed off, running through the corridor of Team Skull grunts with no interruption. Hau and Sun weren’t so lucky, forced to battle their way through, until they finally reached Lusamine’s living quarters. They were met with Guzma, gloating at Gladion, who was crouched over Type: Null with concern written all over his face.   
“You were never strong enough to beat me, huh, boy?”   
“Leave him alone!” Hau yelled, pulling a Max Revive from the outside pocket of his bag and kneeling next to Null, spraying the Pokémon gently, and Sun stepped in front of them angrily.   
“You have no right to criticise Gladion.” Sun said through gritted teeth, “You’re four times his age and have nothing to show for your life.”   
“Why don’t we test that in battle, huh?” Guzma cocked his head, grinning, “You won’t beat me this time, pipsqueak.”   
“Any time.”

 

Their battle went much the same as before, with Rowlet and Sun moving in perfect harmony, so in sync they were breathing at exactly the same time. Guzma’s Pokémon stood no chance against the duo, and by the time Sun had finished mopping the floor with Guzma’s gross hairstyle, Null was back to its full strength. Guzma yelled a few incoherent sentences as Sun mentioned to his friends to head through, and followed them close behind. “Worthless.” he spat at Guzma as he passed, noting the way Gladion’s shoulders raised just a fraction. Hau placed a hand gently on Gladion’s arm, an attempt at comfort, as they made their way up the steps into Lusamine’s quarters. Null stepped along beside its partner, as close to Gladion’s leg as it could comfortably be. Sun followed the party a little way behind, and joining them as they pushed their way through the final doors into Lusamine’s room.  
“Lillie!” Hau called immediately, and the girl in question turned to face them as they rushed to her, Hau and Sun fussing over her, and Gladion placing himself between Lillie and Lusamine.   
“Hello, mother.” he commented coldly, and Lusamine gave a laugh that sounded more like a growl.   
“I don’t know who you’re addressing, Gladion. I don’t have any children.”   
Sun and Hau saw Gladion and Lillie wince, just slightly, at her comment.   
“We need to save Nebby- I mean, Cosmog…” Lillie exclaimed, to nobody in particular. Gladion shot a look over his shoulder at her.   
“What exactly do you plan to do?” Lusamine asked, smiling smugly, “You couldn’t protect it before. In fact, if I recall, it was Cosmog that had to protect _you._ ”   
“You don’t understand!” Lillie strained towards her mother, held back only by Hau and Sun’s grip, “If you make it use its power, Cosmog will die!”   
“Yes.” Lusamine raised her eyebrows, then turned to activate a transporter, “It probably will. I don’t care.”   
“How can you be so heartless…?”   
“Heartless!?” Lusamine barked, “You have the nerve to talk to _me_ about being heartless when _you_ rejected your own mother’s love?” she shook her head, standing on the Transporter pad, “Perhaps if you had been my daughter, I would have listened. Too bad.”   
Lusamine disappeared with a flash.


	2. "Swan"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fights and queers, emphasis on the queers
> 
> If Ilima wasn't gay before... (he was)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Earlier today a friend told me self-inserts are just lazy writing.   
> This is dedicated to you, Kurt, you salty jealous bitch ;)
> 
> (this is just one big self insert because nobody loves me and it's nice to pretend im sorry)  
> dont expect updates this oftem im just gay

 

“Nebby!” Lillie screamed as her mother disappeared, Cosmog case in hand. She finally broke free of Hau and Sun’s grip, and made a beeline for the transporter, slamming the activator button before she had even made contact with the transporter pad.   
“Come on!” Gladion called, heading after his sister. Hau and Sun were hot on his heels, all three of them squishing into the transporter compartment before Hau hit the activator button and they flashed out of existence, reappearing in a room they didn’t recognise. They arrived just in time to see Lusamine lift the case into the air and light exploded, an Ultra Wormhole opening above her and releasing the Jellicent-style Ultra Beast that Sun had battle previously in Aether Paradise.   
Gladion swore quietly as the rumble of thunder echoed dimly from far outside the room they stood in.   
A flash came from behind them, and Guzma appeared, shoving the kids out of the way as he walked up to Lusamine. “It worked,” he panted, joy in the exhaustion of his voice, “It’s time to catch this beast and beat down these upstarts.”   
“You’re right.” Lusamine smiled, coldly, “Take care of them, Guzma.”   
“Yes ma’am.” Guzma pulled a ball from his belt.    
“Hau!” Gladion shouted above the noise of the Ultra Wormhole, “You take Guzma! Sun, take on my mother.”   
“What about you?” Hau asked, Primarina’s ball already spinning through the air.   
“I’ll take the Beast.” Gladion replied, face set in a determined line, “Null was born to be a beast killer.”

 

Lusamine glowered at Sun as he faced off against her, Rowlet’s Pokéball clutched in his hand, knuckles white, arms quivering. Lusamine sent out Clefable, and Sun took a deep breath as he released Rowlet.

Of course, he needn’t have worried. He beat Lusamine easily, taking only Bewear as a casualty- he blamed Lusamine’s annoying fairy type moves. She snarled as she withdrew her Lilligant.    
“How can you be so awful?” she spat at Sun as Hau and Gladion stepped in to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him. Lusamine glared at her son, then at her daughter, and shook her head, “No matter. Guzma!”   
“Yes ma’am?”   
“With me. We will catch Nihilego with the Beast Ball we’ve been developing here.”   
“Yes ma’am.” Guzma stepped around Sun, Hau, and Gladion to join Lusamine, and they both turned to the Ultra Wormhole, their laughter echoing as they blinked in and out of existence- then disappeared into the wormhole, which closed behind them, becoming nothing more than a glowing line in the air. The Cosmog case lay on the floor, silent and still.

Lillie dashed straight for it, shaking hands fiddling with the clasp until it popped open. “N… Nebby?”   
Out of the box floated a tiny shape, a black dot in the centre of a Nebby-coloured disk. It seemed unresponsive.   
Gladion reached out to put a hand on Lillie’s shoulder, but flinched away before he could make contact. Lillie sighed, cupping a hand around the Nebby-dot. It floated away before it could make contact with her hand, and she continued chasing it around for a minute before clasping it in both of her hands.   
“Oomph!” she pulled at the Pokémon, “He’s so heavy!”   
“He floats away from contact.” Gladion observed, “Just… scoop him into your bag and he should move with it.”   
Lillie gave a determined nod and did as she was told- lo and behold, she stood with no problem. It seemed Gladion had been correct. He watched her look around, and sighed, “Let’s get out of here. There’s nothing more we can do.”   
One by one they stepped onto the transporter, and returned to Lusamine’s room. Wicke greeted them there, relief oozing off of her as she made her way over to Gladion and Lillie, ensuring they were unharmed. “Oh, thank goodness.” She breathed, “I’m so glad you’re all okay. I’ve arranged some beds for you all, so that you can rest up here.”   
“Lusamine and Guzma left through the Ultra Wormhole,” Gladion explained to her, shaking his head, “There’s still a lot we need to do to fix this. We’ll need to seek the power of the Legendary Pokémon, we must get them back from the Beast’s world...”   
“You should rest first, there are beds for you in the staff’s residential quarters.” Wicke smiled at him, though her tone was firm with motherly concern.   
“We’ll take you up on that offer.” Gladion sighed, relenting. Hau frowned at him,   
“We? Who said you get to decide what I do, huh?”   
“You need to rest too, Hau.” Gladion weaved through Sun, Lillie, and Wicke to face him, “You and your Pokémon have worked so hard today.”    
Hau had picked Flareon’s ball off of his belt and was studying it closely. Gladion reached out, and after a momentary pause, he placed his hands around the ball and Hau’s own hands. “You can only do so much before you need to rest.”   
Hau nodded, frowning a little, “I suppose you’re right.”   
“I’ll stay here,” Lillie interjected, walking toward Lusamine’s bed, “The same way I did when I was younger.”   
“Fair enough.” Sun replied, “Call me if you need anything, Lillie.” and he headed over to give her a brief hug before turning back to Wicke, “I appreciate the offer, but I’ll be staying elsewhere. I have things I need to do tonight, though,” he turned to Lillie, “I’ll be back in the morning to travel with you.”   
“Thank you, Sun.” She smiled, setting her bag down on the other side of the double bed. Hau bounded over to hug him goodbye, and Gladion sighed,   
“I’ll walk you out.”

 

Gladion and Sun walked in silence to the rooftop of Aether Paradise, where Sun would meet Charizard to take him elsewhere. They stood, side-by-side, watching the sky for Charizard. Dusk was just beginning to hint at the sky above them, and the atmosphere was surprisingly calm considering the disaster breathing down their backs.   
“Thank you.” Gladion eventually broke the silence as Charizard appeared in the distance.   
“What for?”   
“Helping me today.” he scuffed at the floor, “I appreciate it.”   
“Don’t be dumb, yeah?” Sun chuckled, gently shoving Gladion’s arm, “I’m happy to help you out any time. And I’m sure Hau wouldn’t complain about spending some more time with you.” he gave him a smirk, and Gladion spluttered a little. Charizard landed, and Sun chuckled as he climbed into the saddle, “See you tomorrow, Gladion. Maybe push the beds together, it’s more comfortable than trying to fit two people in a single.  _ Trust me _ .” and Charizard took off before Gladion could form a response. Sun watched Gladion’s mouth drop open and face out of sight as they circled higher, chuckling to himself. Once Gladion became nothing more than a dot, ha patted the Charizard’s neck, “To Hau’oli Shopping District please, pal.” he said softly, and Charizard turned, heading for Melemele Island.

  
  


Ilima paced around his room, taking books off of shelves, flicking through the first few pages of each one before replacing it. It was coming up to 7PM, the sun was starting to sink, and Sun had not yet called him to let him know he was safe. Usually, the Kantonian called him at 6:30PM sharp, every evening since they’d exchanged numbers. (The night  that Sun had passed his Normal Trial, of course, Ilima had been taken with Sun and his battle ability.)   
He kept checking his phone, every thirty seconds, at most. The time crept on. 6:53PM. 6:54PM. 6:55…

He heard a knock at the front door, but ignored it; it wasn’t uncommon to have visitors, his father was a popular man. What was unusual, however, was the gentle knock at his bedroom door. Probably a visitor wanting a trial, though this late, it was rare.   
He opened the door, and as soon as he did so, Sun threw himself at him. “Oh my God it has been a long day.”   
“Sun!” Ilima exclaimed, practically holding him up. Sun leaned against Ilima, arms draped limply around the Trial Captain’s neck. “I was so worried, you didn’t call-”   
“I’m sorry.” Sun stood finally, turning to close Ilima’s bedroom door, “After everything that happened, I just… wanted to see you. I hopped on Charizard as soon as I could.”   
“You look exhausted, you poor thing. You can stay here tonight.”   
“Are you sure? My house is only like ten minutes away if I take Tauros.”   
“No, no, I’m sure. I’m glad to see you, anyway. I’ve…” Ilima tilted his head and turned away to fiddle in a drawer.   
“You’ve…?” Sun prompted when it became obvious that Ilima wasn’t going to finish the sentence.   
“I missed you.” Ilima turned to Sun, who had sat himself down on Ilima’s surprisingly messy bed, “Here, you can borrow one of my shirts to sleep in. I’ll have your clothes cleaned for you.” he handed the shirt over- two sizes too big, even for Ilima- and turned away. “Tell me when you’re changed.”   
“Dude, I don’t mind you seein’ me undress.” Sun snorted, “It’s not the worst state you’ll have seen me in.”   
This was true. Ilima had seen Sun half-naked and blackout drunk the night he had completed the Grand Trial. He’d carried him home, in fact. Ilima’s home- he knew Sun’s mother didn’t approve of him drinking/   
“Just get on with it.” Ilima sighed, picking a book off of his desk and heading to the bookshelves to put it away. Sun coughed gently to let him know he’d changed, and Ilima turned to take Sun’s dirty clothes from him, but was struck immediately.    
Well, if he wasn’t gay before…

“Ili, you okay?” Sun waved at him. Ilima’s shirt was pretty much a bag on him, reaching his mid-thigh, and the ‘t-shirt’ sleeves were almost long enough to reach his elbows. This left the neckline rather open, and Ilima swallowed and looked away from the glimpse of collarbone he had there. Of course, Sun was not wearing his usual capris- in fact, he only had his underwear.    
“Yep.” Ilima choked in reply, in what was essentially a squeak. He steadied his voice before speaking again, “Hand your clothes over, I’ll put them in the wash.”   
Sun did as he was bidden and Ilima, blushing furiously, left the room in a bit of a hurry.

 

Sun sighed as he plopped back down on Ilima’s bed. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d stayed here, in Ilima’s bed. It would be the first time sober, though. He knew Ilima had no spare bed, the last time he’d woken up here, the Trial captain had been huddled on the edge of the bed, wrapped in a thin blanket, and as warm as Alola was, nights could get pretty cold for anyone used to the heat. Ilima had given up his duvet for a drunk Sun. He’d felt bad about that.

When he came back, Ilima seemed to have composed himself. Sun was huddled under his duvet by the window, looking out at the sky as it turned dark. He glanced briefly at Ilima as he entered, and then waved him over. “Come look.”    
Ilima crawled across the bed to sit beside Sun, having changed into his own nightclothes before re-entering his room. Sun shuffled over toward him a little, and draped part of the duvet around Ilima’s shoulders as he spoke, “The star you can see just… there..” he pointed, “above that peak…”   
“The Altar of the Moone.”   
“Yeah, that. That star is Schedar, in the constellation Cassiopeia.” he traced the shape with a finger, looping the arm he wasn’t using to point around Ilima’s waist, “You can just about see Navi, too, if you look hard enough. It’s still too bright for Cygnus, though. A shame, I like Cygnus.” he smiled, exhaustion written on his face as he leaned his head gently on Ilima’s shoulder. The Trial captain put an arm around Sun. “It means ‘Swan’ and it reminds me of you.”   
Ilima smiled, and squeezed his friend a little. For a few minutes, they sat silently, watching the sky outside.   
“So, what happened today?” Ilima asked finally, and he felt a twinge of sadness as Sun sat up from his shoulder.   
“Well, you’ll have seen the thunderclouds, I’m sure.”   
“Yes, we saw them.”   
“Lusamine opened an Ultra Wormhole in the Aether Labs.” Sun dropped his gaze to his crossed legs, “She and Guzma went in, and now Nebby is… he’s not moving, or responding, he’s just… really, really heavy.” he sighed, “We had to battle Lusamine, and the beast that came from the Wormhole.”   
Ilima nodded, “We’ve had an infestation of Ultra Beasts here, too. They seem to have taken over Verdant Cavern.”   
“Oh no, Ilima…” Sun welled up, “This is all my fault, I’m sorry.”   
“How can it be your fault?” Ilima couldn’t help but laugh, taking Sun’s hands in his own, “It was Lusamine’s decision to open the Wormhole. You did everything you could, you should be proud.”   
Sun sniffled, and Ilima sighed. He’d never seen Sun cry before. He pulled the Kantonian toward him, hugging him tightly, “Don’t cry.”   
“‘M not cryin’” Sun continued to snuffle, “I’m just… sorry.”   
“Hey, shush.” Ilima set his hands on Sun’s shoulders and pushed him back, studying his face, “Tonight, you’re gonna sleep, and you’re going to relax and rest here. Tomorrow is a new day, and we’ll figure out what to do from there, yeah?”   
Sun gave a watery smile, and Ilima chuckled, “There’s the smile I love.”   
“Lame.” Sun laughed at him, hitting him gently on the shoulder. Ilima let his hands rest on Sun’s shoulders for a few moments more, making eye contact with him, and he felt his heart skip a few times. (Oops.)   
“You should sleep now.” he said, pulling away suddenly, “You’re exhausted.”   
“You’re not takin’ a blanket this time.” Sun frowned as Ilima clambered off the bed, “Either I take the blanket, or we share the duvet.”   
Ilima stared at him for a moment before relenting, and climbing back into the bed. “Fine,” he sighed, “we’ll share.”   
They lay down, facing one another, and Ilima felt Sun gently take his hand under the covers. He made no attempt to shake him off.   
“Night, honey.” Sun mumbled, closing his eyes, and slipping almost immediately to sleep.   
Ilima gave a breath of laughter, and leaned over to kiss Sun’s forehead.   
“Night, Sun.”


	3. Nightmares

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some fluff to lighten up your day and my own

As soon as Sun had disappeared, Gladion headed inside, darting into a corner to allow himself to breathe briefly, and calm down before he made his way back to Hau and Wicke, who met him in the entrance hall. Lillie had already settled herself into bed, Wicke told him, as they took the elevator to the Staff Quarters. Hau sidled over to Gladion as Wicke controlled the elevator, humming away to herself. The back of their hands brushed when Hau stopped beside him.   
“Are you okay?” Hau asked, voice low and quiet. Gladion knew Wicke could hear, but was politely ignoring them. He turned his head a fraction to meet Hau’s eye, and saw the genuine concern there. Similarly, in the brief moment, Hau saw the hurt and fear thinly veiled and flickering in Gladion’s eyes, obviously only in the tiny crease of his eyebrows. Hau nodded his understanding, and they both turned back to face Wicke. Hau bumped his hand gently against Gladion’s, and out of the corner of his eye he saw the taller boy swallow, tears glimmering slightly in his eyes.    
In the end, it was Gladion that tentatively shifted his hand, creeping across and slotting his fingers between Hau’s.

 

The elevator bumped to a stop, and Wicke led them down to the room they would be staying in. “I got you a twin room,” she explained to them chirpily, “I assumed you’d want some privacy, though we don’t have any single rooms, and moving the staff was hard enough anyhow.”   
“Thank you, Wicke.” Gladion nodded as they stopped by a door, “We’ll see you in the morning.”   
“There’s food in the mini-fridge.” Wicke unlocked the door and handed Hau the key, “Help yourself.”   
“Thanks!” Hau chirped, and Gladion finally let go of his hand as they pushed the door open and entered, Hau waving to Wicke until the door closed, blotting her out.   
Gladion headed straight for the bed, Hau for the fridge.   
“You want some food?” he asked, already taking a bite of a Pecha berry.   
“No thanks.” Gladion replied, tugging his boots off and setting them neatly at the foot of the bed.   
“You sure?” Hau stood, a plate of berries balanced on one hand, the half-eaten Pecha in the other. He kicked the door closed, and observed Gladion for a moment as he shook his head,   
“I’m sure.”   
“When was the last time you ate, Gladion?”   
“Huh? Oh…” he stopped fiddling with his hoodie and paused, thinking for a while. Eventually, he shrugged, and went back to undressing, “I don’t remember.”   
Hau paused midway through prying his shoe off with his other foot, turning to him slowly. “You don’t remeber?”   
“Nope. It’s not unusual, though, I can’t afford to eat all that often.”   
“Well this food is free.” Hau kicked his shoes off, then carried the plate of berries over to Gladion, plopping down on the bed behind him as Gladion tugged his hoodie off and changed into a plain white night shirt. Before Gladion could pull the shirt down, Hau’s hand darted out to stop him, his fingertips gently grazing Gladion’s back.   
“Hey,” he said softly, eyes fixed on the knarled, knotted scars on his back, “how did you get these?”   
“Null took a while to get used to me.” Gladion replied stiffly, frozen in place, “It attacked me a lot, at first.”   
Hau gently brushed his hand over Gladion’s scars, watching every little movement from the blond, every fractional jerk, flinch, wince. He put the plate down and turned, one hand ghosting over each of Gladion’s shoulder blades and sinking lower until Hau could gently wrap his arms around Gladion, kneeling behind him and resting his head softly on his back. He felt Gladion’s breath hitch a couple of times before he could take in a breath properly, and he let out a soft sigh and folded his arms across Hau’s.

They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Hau pulled back, allowing Gladion to finish changing. Hau finished his Pecha berry and set the plate in the middle of the bed, and Gladion sat opposite him.   
“Please eat something.” Hau tilted his head at Gladion, concern written on his face. Gladion sighed as he picked a Sitrus berry from the side of the plate and pulled a pocket knife from the pile that was his jeans. He slit the rind of the berry from top to bottom, and hissed as he accidentally cut his thumb.   
“What’d you do?” Hau moved the plate and crawled over, taking the Sitrus berry from Gladion and taking his bleeding hand in both of his own.   
“It’s just a small cut, Hau, don’t worry.” Gladion found himself smiling at Hau’s concern.    
“At least let me cut the berry for you.”   
“Fine.” Gladion relented, shaking his head, and Hau took the knife from Gladion’s lap and the berry from the plate, cutting it into slices small enough to eat. He handed Gladion the first slice, and then took one for himself, and they sat in silence as they ate their way through the Sitrus berry, then through the rest of the berries.

 

“So,” Gladion put the plate away once they’d finished and washed their hands in the adjoining bathroom, “a lot happened today.”   
“It did.” Gladion mumbled, eyelids almost too heavy to stay open. Hau chuckled at him,   
“If you wanna talk about it, I’m right here.”   
“Obviously.” Gladion yawned, “Right now, I just want to sleep.”   
“Yeah, I get you.” Hau yawned right back, pulling his shirt off and changing into the night shirt provided, “I’ll see you in the mornin’ Gladion. Night.”   
“Night.” Gladion turned his back on Hau and pulled the blanket up over his shoulder. Hau finished getting changed, and took one last look at Gladion before flicking the lights off and clambering into his own bed.

 

Hau was awoken a couple of hours later to the sound of mumbling, and bedsprings creaking as Gladion tossed and thrashed, “No,” he breathed in his sleep, “Stop. Don’t hurt her. Don’t hurt it.”   
“Gladion?” Hau sat up, eyes adjusting to the dark.   
“Don’t hurt it!” Gladion grew more frantic, and after a few repeats, he sat bolt upright in bed, “NO!”   
“Hey, hey, hey.” Hau hopped out of bed and rushed over to him, plopping on the edge by his legs. Gladion panted, looking around wildly for a moment before he broke down in tears, burying his face in his hands. Hau shuffled closer and pulled him into a hug, quietly shushing him until he calmed down, taking in a deep, shaky breath.    
“I’m sorry.” he managed finally, pulling his hands from his face and hugging Hau back, tightly. He turned to sullenly bury his face in Hau’s neck. He blinked the final few tears from his eyelashes, and Hau squeezed briefly.    
“You don’t have to be sorry.”   
“I’m so tired.” Gladion said, voice soft and slurred slightly, “I just want to sleep.”   
“Go on, go back to sleep.” Hau said, pulling back and smiling. Gladion’s breath sped up, and he clutched at Hau’s arms.   
“Don’t leave.”   
“Okay, I’m not going anywhere.” Hau assured, “Move over a little.”   
Gladion shuffled over, and Hau slid under the blanket next to him. Gladion snuggled into Hau’s chest, curled as close to him as he could possibly get, and Hau rubbed his back in small circles until both of them drifted slowly to sleep.

  
  


Wicke knocked on their door to wake them the next morning, pushing it open a little to peek her head in. “Gladion, Hau, it’s time for you to leave.”   
“Thanks Wicke.” Gladion replied, rubbing his eyes but otherwise not moving from his warm, comfortable place entwined with Hau. No more nightmares had troubled him once Hau had settled with him, and it was the best night’s sleep he’d had in a long time. Wicke smiled as she spotted them.   
“No problem.” she closed the door behind her as she left.

They went about their morning silently, prying themselves apart and getting dressed, and taking a couple of poffins from the fridge. They ate, sat together, cross-legged on the floor.   
“Thank you.” Gladion said, halfway through his poffin.   
“Hm?” Hau tilted his head, “What for?”   
“For last night.” Gladion was focused on counting the seeds on the top of the poffin, “With my nightmare.”   
“You don’t need to thank me.” Hau chuckled, “I was happy to help. I always am happy to help.”   
“That’s the first time I’ve slept properly since… well, for a while, anyhow.”   
Hau seemed concerned, leaning over to rest a hand on Gladion’s knee, “How long has it been since you were happy, Gladion?”   
“Hm… I’m always happy when I’m with Null.” Gladion tore a chunk of poffin off and ate it before continuing, “And at the Battle Royal.”   
“How long since you’ve been a proper human being, though?”   
“Pardon?”   
“You don’t eat properly, you don’t sleep properly, you barely feel happiness… you’re hurt.”   
“It’s not so bad.” Gladion picked at the poffin, and Hau shook his head.   
“Do you want to feel happy again?”   
“Of course.” Gladion ate the rest of his poffin, still avoiding Hau’s eyes.   
“Then stay with me!” Hau beamed, on his knees now and leaning forward, “Travel with me, you don’t have to be alone.”   
“I… are you sure?”   
“It’s gonna mean stayin’ in a few Pokémon centres overnight, and visiting  _ every _ malasada shop in Alola at least three times. But, if you can put up with that, then yeah!”   
“I’d like that.” Gladion smiled back at him, and they stood together, Hau bundling Gladion into a hug immediately.   
“We should go, though.” he said, letting go and picking up his backpack. Gladion nodded and did the same, and they left the room together, talking quietly about Type: Null and its moves.


	4. Poison

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Zips past actual story at speed of light to be gay)  
> just kidding its literally a year since I updated. Sorry!  
> USUM reawakened my love for my sweet sweet Ilima.  
> the TLDR as to why this took so long?  
> I was writing because i was single and lonely. then i started dating the Salty Jealous Bitch who was mad about my self inserts. then we broke up and i was sad. (In the interim, Taako Taaco and FitzChivalry Farseer happened.)
> 
> BUT NOW ILIMA
> 
> FINAL NOTE: if ur here for NSFW youll be disappointed, I'm super duper triple ace and so is my Sun.

“Good morning.” Ilima smiled at Sun as the latter yawned and sat up in Ilima’s bed. Sun gave a groan of response as he leaned over to turn his alarm off.   
“Mornin’” He responded once the music cut out. Ilima was already awake, sitting at his desk and poring over a book.   
“Did you sleep well?”   
“Better than I have for a while.” Sun confessed, slipping out of bed, “My clothes?”   
“Ah- in the top drawer.” Ilima turned back to his book and wrote a note in the margin of the page he was on.   
“Thanks.” Sun pulled the drawer out and retrieved his clothing. He set to stripping immediately, not caring about Ilima.   
“Also!” Ilima spun on his chair, realising quickly that he’d made a mistake as he was met with Sun, shirtless. He continued anyhow, despite the heat rising up his neck, “A-Also! I have a, um, gift, for you.” He stood and padded toward Sun, kneeling by the chest of drawers and pulling out the bottom one. He retrieved a neatly wrapped box from it, then pushed it closed as he stood. Sun was sitting on his bed, resting back on his hands, and tilting his head. “A gift?”   
Ilima placed the box in Sun’s lap, then sat next to him on the bed. He folded his hands in his lap and kept his gaze firmly locked on them, inspecting the polish on his nails (which he really needed to re-do) as he spoke, “I hope you like it.”   
Sun looked at him quizzically for a moment, then turned back to the box. He carefully pulled at the ribbon until it came loose, and lifted the top off.   
The box clattered to the floor as Sun threw himself at Ilima at full force, hugging with enough pressure to snap a Sudowoodo in two. Ilima was, for a second, completely paralysed- Sun was still shirtless, for one, and for two, he wasn’t expecting that. He fell back, bouncing into the mattress of the bed as Sun blubbered a thank you into his ear. At long last, he regained his movement, and chuckled softly as he wrapped his arms around Sun’s waist, “So you like the new binder then?”   
“ _ I love it _ .” Sun said, muffled by the fact that his face was buried in Ilima’s neck. Ilima laughed again, and they stayed put for a few more seconds before finally sitting up, acutely aware that they were on very limited time. Sun picked the binder up off of the floor and admired it as he tugged it over his head. It was just his style- a scale pattern, gold, and sparkly. Ilima had made an excellent choice.

 

It seemed to be far too soon that Sun was dressed, fed, and standing outside with Charizard ready to leave.   
“Guess it’s time.” Sun sighed, turning from Ilima to Charizard, ready to climb aboard. Before he could clear the ground, Ilima grabbed his hand and pulled at him, leaving Sun to turn to him in confusion, “Are you okay?”   
“I…” Ilima frowned at him, pausing for a moment before tugging Sun quickly towards him and hugging him as tight as he possibly could, “Please stay safe, Sun.”   
Sun hugged him back, humming momentarily, until he felt Ilima shake. He was  _ crying? _   
“Ili?” Sun put his hands on Ilima’s shoulders to push him back just far enough to see his face. Yep. Ilima was crying. “Hey, hey, hey,” Sun soothed, wiping Ilima’s cheek gently with his thumb, “I’ll be fine. It’ll all be okay, Ili.” he felt Ilima’s hands ball in the shirt at his waist.   
“I’m worried,” Ilima hiccuped, “I’m worried you’ll get hurt and I won’t know because you won’t be able to call me.”   
“I’m going to be okay. I have Hau, and Gladion, and Lillie all watching my back.” Sun assured, resting his forehead on Ilima’s. Ilima hiccuped and closed his eyes, nodding slightly.    
“It’s going to be okay.” Sun said again, quietly.    
After a few long moments, they broke apart. “Are you going to be okay?” Sun asked Ilima, who nodded.   
“Yes. Sorry.”   
“Don’t worry.” Sun smiled, and stepped in a little to kiss Ilima on the cheek, “It’s fine. I’ll talk to you later.”   
Sun turned away and hopped up onto Charizard’s back, waving as the fire type wheeled him into the sky. He swallowed his unspoken words,  _ ‘I love you.’ _

 

“Hi!” Sun greeted as he ran up to Lusamine’s home. Lillie sat on the steps outside, and Sun was taken aback a little to see that she’d changed her outfit.   
“Hi, Sun!” Lillie grinned, standing to throw herself into a hug as soon as he was close enough. Sun chuckled; she was standing on her tiptoes on the first step in order to be able to wrap her arms around his neck.   
“You changed your clothes!” He exclaimed as she pushed herself back upright, and she beamed at him, turning to show off the new style.   
“I thought it was time I stopped being my mother’s doll.” She replied, “So… this is my Z-Powered form!” and she struck a pose, very similar to the Normal-type Z-Move. Sun chuckled warmly, and nodded in approval.   
“It suits you.” He caught sight of her new bag, lying on the step, “Is Nebby in there?”   
“He is.” Lillie smiled awkwardly, “He was a nuisance to catch again.”   
“At least he’s safe.” Sun nodded. At that moment, Hau made an appearance, screeching to a halt beside Sun, panting as he pawed at his friend’s arm,   
“S-Sun! Look wh-what Gladion…” he trailed off, doubling over to catch his breath as Gladion padded up beside him, shaking his head.   
“I found this downstairs.” he sighed, handing the item to Lillie, “It’s the Sun Flute. When sounded together with the Moon Flute, it’s said that they can call the Legendary Pokémon.” as he finished, he turned his attention to Hau, patting him on the back, “Are you okay?”   
“I’m… fine.” Hau wheezed, pulling himself back upright and wrapping an arm around Gladion’s waist for a brief one-armed hug. Convinced, Gladion turned his gaze to Sun, “Here.” he said bluntly, holding his hand out. Sun couldn’t see what he was holding, but allowed him to drop it into his palm regardless, “It’s a Master Ball,” Gladion elaborated, “it can catch any Pokémon without fail.” He looked away from Sun’s face, “I thought it might help, it’s the least I can do. I…” Sun noted that his fist clenched at his side, “I’m not strong enough to help Lillie save Lusamine and Cosmoem myself, so I’m counting on you.”   
Sun nodded resolutely, “You  _ can _ count on me.”   
“By the way, Lillie,” Hau interjected, looking his friend up and down, “You look great! I love your new style!”   
“Thank you!” Lillie smiled, “I’m ready to use my full force now too! But what about you? And Gladion? What will you both do now?”   
Gladion and Hau looked at one another, and it was Gladion that answered, “We’re going to stay here for a few days to start cleaning up,” he explained, “which is funny, really. All Null and I wanted to do was get away from this place, but… here we are again.”   
“After we’ve got the ball rolling, I’m going to go back to my trials.” Hau added, grinning, “And Gladion is coming with me!”   
Sun and Lillie both looked at Gladion in surprise, and Sun battled the urge to smile at the flush on his face, “Yeah?” he asked, “Good for you. Good luck, Hau!”   
“Thanks!” Hau stepped in to give Sun a bear hug, and Sun was surprised with the amount of gutso he responded with naturally, “you too, Sun.” Hau added.   
Hau stepped back to Gladion, who hugged him also, “I’m sorry for dragging you into our family mess. Both of you.” he added briefly, turning his attention to Sun momentarily,   
“It’s okay,” Hau reassured, and Sun nodded along with him, “We got to see incredible things that nobody else will ever see! Don’t worry.”   
They caught the rare glimpse of a smile on Gladion’s face just before he rested it on the top of Hau’s head, breathing carefully.   
“What about the Sun Flute?” Lillie asked, tucking the Moon Flute into her bag carefully, “Where do we go to find that?”   
Gladion lifted his head to reply, “I don’t know, I’m sorry. But the Kahuna of Poni Island may know more, she is the protector of the shrine after all.”   
“How do we get there?” Lillie asked, determination written all over her face, and Gladion stood straighter, eyes brightening,   
“I can get you there! The boat downstairs… I can ask them to take you.”   
Lillie hopped over to hug her brother, on the opposite side to Hau, “Thank you.”   
“Get in here, Sun!” Hau grinned, and Sun returned his grin as he stepped in to the group hug, soaking in the affection and trust of the group like a rock soaks up the heat of the sun.

 

It was Ilima that told them where to find the Kahuna’s house. Though, he seemed a little confused by the request,   
“The Kahuna of Poni island?” He’d tipped his head at Sun’s question, “Well, I can tell you where he used to live, but the Kahuna died around five years ago. It was terribly sad, he was such a good man.”   
So Ilima gave Lillie and Sun directions, and they walked together, to meet Mudsdale outside of the house. Lillie gave an exclamation of surprise and moved to stroke and fuss the Pokémon, and Sun moved artfully around its huge hooves to make his way to the door.

Before he could knock, though, Hapu appeared from the side holding a large oran berry in one hand, and she started when she saw Sun with his fist raised.   
“Oh, hello, Sun!”   
“Hapu!” Lillie exclaimed, slipping past Mudsdale to rush over and throw her arms around her. Hapu laughed and returned the embrace.   
“Hey, Hapu, do you know where we could find… well, we were told to look for the Kahuna, but Ilima told us he died.”   
“Yes, yes.” a brief sadness crossed Hapu’s face, as Lillie released her, “The Kahuna of Poni Island was my grandfather, but we have been without a Kahuna since his death. Though, I suppose… I did just complete my battle with that odd creature that appeared from the sky,” as she spoke, she made her way to Mudsdale, to feed it the berry, “and the time might be right. Hm… yes.” she concluded, as Mudsdale finished, “You two! Follow me to the ruins!” and she pulled herself into the saddle and drove Mudsdale directly into a canter. Lillie and Sun shared a brief look of confusion, and as they turned to leave, someone called to them from the house.

The door opened.   
“Oh, how wonderful, my little Hapu finally has some friends! Here, allow me to see your ride pager for a moment.”   
Despite his confusion, Sun handed his pager over, and when the old woman handed it back he found that Machamp had been registered. He opened his mouth to thank her, she held her hand up to silence him.   
“Don’t mention it! Now go, find my Hapu.”   
Lillie and Sun took off immediately, heading for the shrine just in time to see Hapu receive her stone from the Tapu. Lillie leaned over to Sun as Hapu dropped her head and fell to one knee in thanks,   
“The stone is the Tapu’s way of choosing Hapu as the Kahuna of Poni Island.”   
“So you two were watching, huh?” Hapu’s voice broke into them, and they both stood bolt upright. Hapu laughed as she made her way down the stairs, cradling the stone to her chest with one hand.   
“We didn’t mean to intrude!” Lillie told her, and Hapu shook her head, smiling,   
“It’s okay. When my grandfather died, I tried to follow in his footsteps as a Kahuna, but back then, I wasn’t ready. I set out to travel Alola, and learn from my journey, so that one day I might be ready.” She sighed, clenched her fingers, grinned. “So the Kahuna you were looking for is right here!”   
Lillie beamed, hugged Hapu, and stood only when Sun cleared his throat,   
“I’m proud of you,” Sun informed Hapu as Lillie pulled away with a stuttered apology, “But we need to know about the Legendary Pokémon, and if you know of the location of the Moon Flute.”   
“I know my mother is a terrible person, but she is my mother.” Lillie said sadly, “She’s gone to the world of the beasts, and I need to get to her, to talk to her, to-”   
Hapu held up a hand to quiet her, and waved at them to follow as she left,   
“I don’t know much, but I do know the location of the Flute. I’ll take you, and explain as we go.”   
And she told them of the Legendary Pokémon, Lunala, and how there was a ceremony at the Altar of the Moon that involved the playing of the flutes. Lillie showed her the Sun Flute, and Hapu marvelled at it.

 

And then, all too soon, not soon enough, they were at the Altar of the Moon and Sun pressed the flute to his lips and thought of Ilima.   
It was as though a force guided him, his fingers moved of their own accord and his breath eased and pushed without his direction, and the haunting notes of the flutes rose into the air. They did not stop playing, even through the crunching, grinding noise of the altar opening itself, and only when a laser of bright light fired from the altar to a symbol on the floor between he and Lillie did they lower the flutes and watch.   
A dome formed, and Lillie found her backpack tugged from her shoulders and shed as Nebby zipped to the sphere of light, disappeared into it, and for a few seconds they forgot how to breathe.

There was a blinding flash, and suddenly the Nebby they knew was gone.

“Lunala.” Sun heard Lillie breathe through the still air.

Nebby gave an answering, echoing cry.   
Lillie ran at full speed, hopping the water to run up to Nebby, cuddling into the strange, bat-like body,   
“I’m so glad you’re okay.” there was a hint of a sob in her voice, and Nebby cooed softly and wrapped his wings around her, like a cocoon.   
She stepped back as Nebby unfurled, and bowed her head,   
“Please, Lunala…” A pause, “No. Please, Nebby. Please, help me save my mother.”   
Nebby inclined his head, then turned and let out a wailing note. A rupture appeared in the air, and Nebby looked over his shoulder to Lillie and Sun,   
“He wants us to climb on.” Lillie told Sun, and they both climbed onto his back and clung on for dear life as Nebby spun in the air once, twice, then punched a hole in reality and sent all three catapulting into Ultra Space.

To Guzma. Terrified, rambling Guzma who, in his own roundabout way, tried to help. Tried to warn them. They left him sitting by Nebby, with his knees drawn up and his eyes lost.

To Lusamine, who seemed to have lost her mind, and as Nihilego claimed possession of her, Lillie turned aside to throw up even as Sun threw out Rowlet.

The battle was rough. So rough, in fact, that Sun saw both Rowlet and Bewear go down in moments- only Sylveon was strong enough to stand up to Lusamine’s beast-boosted Pokémon.

And when she was defeated, Lusamine was  _ enraged. _   
The already shadow-coloured body of jelly that had once belonged to Nihilego grew darker, trembled, and Lusamine raised a sharp jelly-taloned tentacle.

Took a swipe at Sun.   
He went down screaming, pinned to the hard rock floor by Lusamine’s horrific chimera of a beast, and he could feel himself growing weaker- at a guess, poison. Nihilego had hit Rowlet with a few Poison moves, after all.

Lillie gritted her teeth, tears springing to her eyes,   
“Lunala!” She called down the hall of eerie tall crystalline plants, “Help me!”

And in an instant, Nebby was there, battling Lusamine away. And though she went to strike him down, the jelly-like body wobbled, ruptured, and suddenly there was Nihilego and Lusamine, separate once more.    
Lusamine collapsed, and Lillie called for her mother as she tore across the hard stone ground, Nihilego’s ball falling forgotten beside her. Guzma, having followed Nebby, pulled Sun to his feet.

“Lillie…” Sun heard Lusamine rasp, and with swimming vision, he saw her reach up to stroke her daughter’s cheek, “When did you… start becoming… beautiful?”

As Lusamine passed out, so did Sun, and he did not remember any of the events that followed. The stressful, dangerous retreat, and Nebby saving them. He didn’t remember Guzma hauling his unconscious form over one shoulder and rushing out of Grand Poni Canyon the moment they solidified in their own world.

All Sun knew is that one moment he was dying slowly in another universe, and the next he was waking up with the dim pink light of dawn running over his skin, and Ilima curled into the corner beside him, asleep against the wall.   
Sun tried to croak out a greeting, and though the words didn’t form, Ilima woke anyway.   
“Sun.” He said as he saw the boy’s eyes open. And then he burst into tears, and Sun had to summon every bit of his strength to crawl to him, though he was only able to rest his head against Ilima’s shin.

Ilima slid down the bed to wrap his arms around Sun, as tight as he dared with the loose bandages across his chest.

Sun tried to speak. Once, twice, then a pause as he focused everything he could into the words.   
“Ilima.”   
“Sun?”   
“I love you.” though the words were a croak, barely intelligible, Ilima froze anyway. Tears welled in his eyes once more, and Sun moved his fingers to simulate a squeeze of reassurance, barely conscious in Ilima’s embrace, now. A breath was held, and Ilima tilted his head in to rest against Sun’s.   
“Kiss me.” Sun said, with a strength he hadn’t realised he had. He was shaking with exhaustion. Ilima shook his head,   
“Not now. Our first kiss should be beautiful.” He studied the expression on Sun’s face, and added, “You’ll live to see it, Sun, don’t fret.” and kissed him on the forehead instead. Sun huffed a breath, and Ilima laughed a little,   
“Go back to sleep. Rest is the best healer.”

They fell asleep in that way, entwined, honest, relieved.


End file.
